Atmospheric measurement system

Abstract

An apparatus providing for simultaneous measurement of the wind upstream and downstream of a wind turbine uses either a single LIDAR beam split into two beams, each focused upstream or downstream of the windmill, or a multiple beam LIDAR with a first beam source aimed toward the upstream direction of the wind and a second beam source aimed at the downstream direction after the wind has passed through the wind turbine. The apparatus may also use LIDAR to measure wind direction and speed by making measurements along slightly different lines of sight, or by pointing the LIDAR in different directions. Two lines of sight allow measuring wind direction in the plane defined by the two lines of sight. Three non-coplanar lines of sight provide the information necessary to determine a full 3-dimensional wind velocity vector. Further, LIDAR may also be used to measure wind speed by estimating the wind velocity using inputs from both aerosol and molecular components.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 732,210, filed on Nov. 30, 2012; and is the U.S. National Stage of PCT Application No. PCT / US2013 / 064693, filed Oct. 11, 2013, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. National Stage application Ser. No. 13 / 387,553, and claims priority thereto. U.S. National Stage application Ser. No. 13 / 387,553 claims priority from PCT / US2010 / 043801 filed Jul. 29, 2010, which claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 229,608, filed on Jul. 29, 2009, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 266,916, filed on Dec. 4, 2009, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 290,004, filed on Dec. 24, 2009. The entire content of each of the above-identified applications is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention is generally directed to Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) systems adapted to...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention relates to an apparatus that uses LIDAR to measure wind speed and direction simultaneously upstream and downstream of a wind turbine. This allows for the measurement of wind turbine wake and its impact on other wind turbines in the wind farms. The invention proposes various embodiments such as using a single laser beam split into two beams, or multiple beams focused upstream and downstream of the windmill. Additionally, the invention also discusses measuring wind direction and speed by making measurements along different lines of sight or by combining aerosol and molecular components to improve measurement precision. The technical effect of this patent is to provide a more accurate and reliable tool for monitoring and controlling wind turbines in wind farms.

Problems solved by technology

The shorter wavelength ultraviolet light provides additional stealth characteristics for the system because the light is quickly absorbed by the atmosphere, and is not otherwise easily detected from relatively long-range distances.

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